CoatQuotaHow much paint a room takes, coat by coat.

Exterior paint for 240 ft of stucco at 10 ft high, 3 coats

Exterior paint
36.77gallons
2,148 ft² of stucco in 3 coats — 8 × 5 gal buckets
Exterior paint by coat13.43 galfirst coat11.67 galeach later coat15% further once the surface is sealed — 3.5 gal saved36.77gallons total160 ft²/galtexture, not brand
Paint36.77gal
What to buybuckets pay from about 3.6 gal up8 × 5 gal
Primerstucco is porous — primer is a separate coat, not an option15.79gal
Wall area240 ft perimeter × 10 ft, less 14 windows and 2 doors2,148ft²
Spread raterough and porous; a sprayer plus back-rolling is the only sane method160ft²/gal
First coat13.43gal
Each later coat15% further on a sealed surface11.67gal
Doubling the first coat would say3.5 gal more than needed40.28gal
Perimeter
240 ft
Wall height
10 ft
Siding
stucco
Coats
3
Windows
14

Texture decides the spread rate, not the brand

stucco takes about 160 ft² per gallon. The same house in smooth fiber cement would take noticeably less, and in brick noticeably more — the mortar joints drink more than the brick does.

240 ft of perimeter at 10 ft high, less 14 windows and two doors, is 2,148 ft². At 3 coats that is 36.77 gallons.

The second coat is cheaper

Once the surface is sealed, paint spreads about 15% further. Doubling the first coat would say 40.28 gal — 3.5 gal more than you need, sitting in the garage until it separates.

Two weather limits matter more than the gallon count

Surface temperature has to stay above about 10 °C for the whole cure, not just while you are painting. A warm afternoon followed by a cold night gives a film that never properly coalesces, and it comes off in sheets the following spring.

Dew point matters as much as rain. Early-morning painting on a clear autumn day fails constantly for exactly this reason — the siding is wet with dew that you cannot see.

Wash first, and wait

Paint over chalky or dirty siding fails at the interface however good the paint is. Pressure-washed wood needs two or three dry days; a moisture meter reading under 15% is the honest test, not "it looks dry".

Back-roll anything you spray

Spray lays paint on the surface. Back-rolling works it into the grain and the grooves. On stucco that is the difference between six years and twelve.

Notes

  • **Surface texture, not brand, decides the spread rate.** Stucco takes about 160 ft² per gallon — rough and porous; a sprayer plus back-rolling is the only sane method. The same house in smooth fibre cement would take 6.14 gal per coat against 13.43 here.
  • **Two weather limits matter more than the gallon count.** Surface temperature must stay above about 10 °C for the whole cure, not just while you are painting — a warm afternoon followed by a cold night gives a film that never coalesces. And the surface has to be dry: dew point matters as much as rain, which is why early-morning painting on a clear autumn day so often fails.
  • Stucco needs primer as a separate coat — 15.79 gal. On brick and stucco a masonry primer also seals the alkalinity that otherwise burns through the topcoat as patchy discolouration months later.
  • Wash it first, and let it dry properly. Paint over chalky or dirty siding fails at the interface no matter how good the paint is, and pressure-washed wood needs two or three dry days before it is ready — a moisture meter reading under 15% is the honest test.
  • Back-roll anything sprayed. Spray alone lays the paint on the surface; back-rolling works it into the grain and the grooves, and on stucco that is the difference between six years and twelve.
  • Buy it all at once and box it. Exterior walls are seen in full sun from a distance, which is the least forgiving lighting there is for a batch difference.

Nearby sizes

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